Category Archives: 420 Bathurst

Post navigation

In response to a number of large development proposals on Bathurst, the City has initiated a study that will prepare an integrated view of the future of the street.

The Bathurst Street Built Form and Land Use Study is a Study advancing a vision for Bathurst Street’s future land use, built form, heritage, and public realm between Queen and Dupont Streets. The Study Team is holding a Public Meeting to present and seek feedback on its draft proposed recommendations, and you’re invited to join and participate in the discussion.

You can review the content and feedback from the first two Public Meetings on the project’s website. If you would like more information, or would like to help spread the word about the meeting, you can download the flyer below.

The City of Toronto has initiated a study to develop a built form and land use vision for Bathurst Street between Queen and Dupont Streets.

The purpose of this study is to develop a planning and urban design framework that addresses land use, built form, heritage, and the public realm.

This study emerged in response to recent development activity along Bathurst Street.

Bathurst Street plays a unique role as a boundary between the area our Official Plan identifies as “Downtown and Central Waterfront” and the rest of the city.

A land use and built form vision for the area needs to be developed to provide guidance to property owners proposing new developments, to inform City staff in reviewing applications for new developments, and to ensure that Bathurst Street reflects the community’s vision for the area.

City Planning is leading the project and has retained a consultant team to prepare the study. The success of this study depends on input from local residents who have an intimate knowledge of the area.

What’s New:

You are invited to participate in two events to discuss the future of Bathurst Street:

Monday June 10 2013: Public Meeting from 6:30 – 9:30 PM

Sunday June 23 2013: Study Area Bus Tour and Design Day from 1:00-7:00 PM

Both events will take place at the College Street United Church at 452 Bathurst Street, northwest corner of Bathurst and College

Please RSVP to this invitation by contacting Ian Malczewski:imalczewski@swerhun.com at Swerhun Facilitation. If you are interested in participating in meetings but are unable to attend, please let us know so we can explore alternative meeting times for future meetings. We will share meeting summaries with all interested individuals. We look forward to speaking with and learning from you.

The OMB Hearing for 410-446 Bathurst Street (aka 420 Bathurst Street, including the former Kromer Radio site) has been announced.

Background: The proposed RioCan development involved demolishing the existing three buildings to construct a new three-storey commercial building with a three-level below grade parking garage. The application included 8 variances to the zoning by-laws. Initially, the city refused the variances on the grounds that they were not well aligned with the Official Plan. The developers then decided to bring the application to the OMB.

Decision: The OMB has denied all of the proposed variances on grounds that they failed at least 2 of the 4 tests in the Planning Act. As a result the site plan appeal has also been dismissed.

This decision is seen as a victory for both the city and the community as the proposed development raised a number of serious concerns regarding impacts on:

the character of the neighborhood, green spaces and natural heritage features.

lower height neighbourhoods near the development, which would have suffered due to lack of adequate proposed height setbacks.

the economic health of nearby shopping districts (e.g. Kensington Market) that would have been adversely affected by the planned large scale retail store.

Thank you to those that worked on this and made their opinions known. Congratulations to all!!

Councillor Mike Layton’s office has asked us to distribute the following information:

Hello All,

A big thank you to those who were able to attend yesterday. We appreciate you taking the time to come out and hopefully you took some important information from the meeting.

Please see attached files for more detailed information on how to be involved at the OMB. (Included in package distributed at the meeting)

Let’s begin with the Logistics:

The Hearing will be Scheduled for 4 Days beginning on October 9.

Assumed Usual format:

The first 2 days will allow (Rio Can) to present

3/4th day will allow the City Solicitor/Party and/or participants present

(This all depends on how the judge decides to proceed)

Location & Time

October 9, 10:00 AM

655 Bay St

16th Floor

In case you missed it, Here are a few key items we discussed at the OMB preparation meeting where the City Solicitor introduced some key issues, pointers and outcomes. Below is a brief description.

The City solicitor emphasized that City Legal does not have a legal position. At the OMB hearing, solicitor will have a planner present in opposition to the variances proposed.

If you register as a party you must attend all 4 Days. (Time Commitment)

An alternative is that you may register as a participant in which requires you attend your pre-scheduled time slot – (Solicitor will ask for this)

These time slots will most likely be available during Wed – Thurs Morning. (I will distribute time slots once I receive more information, subject to its availability)

If you choose to attend you will be considered a witness and subject to cross-examination.

There are no limits to speak, however nice, short, pity bits of information are favourable.

Please Consider:

OMB is not influenced by the number of people rather the quality/uniqueness of each argument brought to the witness stand and cross-examined.

Avoid repeating similar arguments.

Proposing an argument in how you are directly affected defining a personal circumstance has more weight on the decision.

A petition or any argument that is not given hardly any consideration because it does not provide as much truth as a single person who is to swear on oath would.

If you cannot attend on any of the dates specified, the best method is to send in a letter on your behalf or send a letter and authorize another person to attend and present your letter on the witness stand without cross-examination. However, Items that are not cross-examined carry less weight on the decision.

Only BIA’s and Resident Associations may submit a letter and take a position however, this must be in writing and a original copy of authorization is required.

Topics you should consider at the stand:

Physical Impact on you directly.

ex : *intensity of activity, lighting

Official Plan Policies

*Avoid references to transit capacity.*

***Overall, the board will be focusing on the use of the area not the construction***

If you have any further questions on the above feel free to contact me.

If you would like more information/guidance on what you would like to propose, kindly contact the City Solicitor directly:

The City of Toronto’s planning department has called for a community consultation meeting for the proposed zoning bylaw changes for the 420 Bathurst (Kromer Radio) site. Meeting date is not confirmed but looks like late November. We will post more as we know